Cheryl Lee/Comments on Road SenseI am writing from work but am making these comments as a private
citizen.
(1) I drive Whitefish Stage every day--it is a skinny little road with
no shoulders in case of emergencies! It will not bear the extra traffic
of a huge commercial development and all the housing that is planned for
north of Kalispell. As far as I know, there is no immediate plans and NO
MONEY to widen Whitefish Stage--even to a decent two lane road. We
cannot even afford to keep the roads striped here so we can see where we
are going, let alone widen roads for the immense developments being
approved every day. MAKE SURE that plans are in place for traffic
mitigation before saying YES to any more large-scale development. Have
you driven down Whitefish Stage before 8 am lately--lots of traffic even
now--and Reserve---WOW!! Kalispell now has its own little rush hour--is
this what we want? I just lived on the West Coast for ten years--it can
be ugly.
(2) The existing Rose Crossing will also end up being a feeder road for
the Mall-it is a narrow road with a steep hill which all those people
buying into the huge new subdivision planned at the bottom of the hill
will be using as a main thoroughfare anyway. Are there any immediate
plans to widen Rose Crossing? It may be on the boards, but SHOW ME THE
MONEY!
(3) About a week or so ago when the roads were VERY slippery (which they
often are in the winter here) I saw a man driving a truck try to stop at
the stoplight on Rose Crossing and HWY 2. He started to brake and just
kept sliding--barely missing a car crossing Hwy 2 on Rose Crossing. A
second's difference, the car would have been broadsided by the
out-of-control truck. Luckily, he just missed him and kept sliding until
he got the truck under control. Traffic lights on high-speed
roads--like Hwy 2 and Hwy 93 are dangerous because people are really
speeding trying to make the green light, and if there is an accident,
the damage can be extensive--or tragic. An overpass is much safer.
Cheryl Lee
Private Citizen and resident of 946 Trumble Creek Road (two blocks north
off Rose Crossing)